On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Democratic primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota highlighted ongoing battles within the party between progressives and the establishment. Wisconsin is considering a democratic socialist candidate for governor, reflecting a broader wave of progressive victories across the US. This follows recent progressive wins such as Abdul El-Sayed's triumph in Michigan.

In South Carolina, a fiercely contested special Republican primary took place to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Lindsey Graham on July 11. Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, as interim senator. Ten candidates campaigned intensively across the state, engaging voters in diners, church halls, and recreation centers in a compressed campaign period. Eaddy Roe Willard, a longtime Republican activist in South Carolina’s Richmond county, emphasized the local nature of politics there, stating, “we don’t decide whether or not we’re gonna vote for you until we’ve had a chance to shake your hand at least three times.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump made headlines for departing Turkey on a secret military flight aboard Air Force One last month, an extraordinary move reportedly prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, according to the Washington Post.

Trump also signed an executive order to split the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots and announced an overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule, removing recommendations for hepatitis B, Covid-19, and influenza vaccines. He suggested a link between the number of inoculations and autism rates in the US, despite no proven connection. Medical experts have criticized these changes as “problematic and deeply concerning.”

In other developments, Todd Blanche was sworn in as US attorney general during a White House ceremony on Monday, solidifying his position after serving as acting attorney general since April. Additionally, White House staff secretary Will Scharf was named White House counsel and assistant to the president, replacing David Warrington.

Lawyers for David Hearn, an Olympian previously arrested for alleged property destruction of the reflecting pool before charges were dropped, accused the Trump administration of “continuing to attack an innocent man.”